2016 EY Entrepreneur Of The Year finalists announced

The shortlist of 24 finalists in the 2016 EY Entrepreneur Of The YearTM (EOY) programme has been revealed. The finalists have a combined workforce of almost 3000 people and turnover of nearly €450M. The 19th year of the programme focuses on the theme of building a business legacy, and includes mentoring initiatives, bespoke executive education and an international CEO Retreat to Boston. Finalists will also benefit from networking with an experienced community of peers, as they join the 416-strong EOY community of former finalists and winners.

Finalists have been selected in three categories – emerging, industry and international. This year’s shortlist is of a remarkable standard, and it is particularly encouraging to see an increase in the number of female finalists in the programme from last year. The finalists represent a fantastic mix of listed and private entrepreneur-led companies from a diverse range of sectors, including food, retail, technology, and manufacturing. There is also a particularly strong spread of finalists from the burgeoning life sciences and pharmaceutical sectors in Ireland.”

From the huge number of nominations received from across the island of Ireland, the 24 finalists were selected by an independent judging panel of previous winners, chaired by Anne Heraty, CEO of Cpl Resources plc, and previous winner of the 2006 EY Entrepreneur Of The YearTM programme. As part of the 10 month development programme, the finalists will join approximately 50 members of the EOY community for a week long CEO retreat to Boston in May. The retreat will include masterclasses with decision makers at the helm of Boston’s most successful start-ups and globally renowned brands and leading academics from Harvard and M.I.T.

The EY Entrepreneur Of The YearTM programme is supported by Enterprise Ireland, Invest Northern Ireland, The Irish Times and Newstalk.